returns a list of directory entries, each of which is a reference to a hash as described in the previous paragraph.

Where the previous paragraph says:

a hash with three keys: filename, the name of the entry in the directory listing; longname, an entry in a "long" listing like ls -l; and a, a Net::SFTP::Attributes object, which contains the file attributes of the entry (atime, mtime, permissions, etc.).

So, if you want to assign to a hash, you need to dereference first:

for my $remote_file ($sftp->ls('.')) {
    my %details = %$remote_file;
     print $details{filename}, "\n";
}
[download]

To visualize the whole structure, use Data::Dumper:

use Data::Dumper;
for my $remote_file ($sftp->ls('.')) {
    print Dumper($remote_file);
}
[download]

($q=q:Sq=~/;[c](.)(.)/;chr(-||-|5+lengthSq)`"S|oS2"`map{chr |+ord
}map{substrSq`S_+|`|}3E|-|`7**2-3:)=~y+S|`+$1,++print+eval$q,q,a,
[download]

print $sftp->ls('.'), $/;

I don't know anything about Net::SFTP, but the doc sez:

$sftp->ls($remote [, $subref ])

Fetches a directory listing of $remote.

If $subref is specified, [but you're not specifying a $subref] ... .

If $subref is not specified, returns a list of directory entries, each of which is a reference to a hash as described in the previous paragraph. [emphases added]

Update: See also Data::Dump.

G'day slugger415,

If you look in the documentation for Net::SFTP, you'll see under $sftp->ls($remote [, $subref ])]:

"... returns a list of directory entries, each of which is a reference to a hash ..." [my emphasis]

So you're getting something like this:

$ perl -E 'my $x = {a=>1}; say $x'
HASH(0xad5cb8)
[download]

You can use modules like Data::Dumper (builtin) or Data::Dump (CPAN) to investigate further, e.g.

$ perl -E 'use Data::Dump; my $x = {a=>1}; dd $x'
{ a => 1 }
[download]

Hello slugger415,

Fellow Monks have provided you with multiple solutions. Just to add one more :):

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use Net::SFTP;

my $host = '127.0.0.1';
my %args = ( user     => 'tinyos',
         ssh_args => [ port => "22" ] );

my $sftp = Net::SFTP->new($host, %args);
my $ls = $sftp->ls('/home/user/Monks');
print "$_->{filename}\n" for (@$ls);

__END__

$ perl test.pl
benchmark.pl~
Foo
sample.pl
test.log
out.txt
sample.pl~
..
..
..
[download]

Minor note to make here, I am not using password I use ssh keys, I think you should do the same is far far more safe.

Having said all that why not use Net::SFTP::Foreign? Why I should you use this module? Simply read here Net::SFTP::Foreign Vs. Net::SFTP Vs. Net::SSH2::SFTP.

Sample of code just as your example:

#!usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use Net::SFTP::Foreign;

my %args = ( host     => "127.0.0.1",
         user     => "user",
         port     => "22",
         # psw    => "psw", # uncomment if you are using passwords
         key_path => "/home/user/.ssh/id_rsa" ); # comment if you are 
+using passwords

my $sftp = Net::SFTP::Foreign->new(%args);
$sftp->die_on_error("Unable to establish SFTP connection");

my $ls = $sftp->ls('/home/user/Monks')
    or die "unable to retrieve directory: ".$sftp->error;

print "$_->{filename}\n" for (@$ls);

__END__

$ perl test.pl
benchmark.pl~
Foo
sample.pl
test.log
out.txt
sample.pl~
..
..
..
[download]

Both examples above are based on my local configurations, so simply update them based on your configurations.

Hope this helps, BR.